By Audrey Tan
If you’ve got a garden that basks in sunlight for most of the day, you have the perfect lot for cultivating a perennial garden. With perennial plants as the foundation of your garden, you’ll be blessed with lush foliage and a gorgeous, colourful display of flowers and seed heads for a long time. You only need to plant them once, and you can enjoy them for many years.
In seasonal climates, they hibernate in winter and regrow from the same roots during spring and summer. In tropical climates, they grow and bloom continuously.
Are you excited to begin cultivating your perennial garden? Our guide below will equip you with the basics to help you grow your green thumb, one perennial at a time.
Things To Know Before Starting A Perennial Garden
Research the best perennial plants for your garden and choose the right spot: Most blooming perennials need a lot of sun, around 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight daily. But don’t worry if your garden doesn’t see much sun, as you’ll also be able to find perennials that thrive in the shade.
Space is essential to keep in mind as perennials grow larger each year and require adequate spacing to receive sufficient light, air, and nutrients while reducing the risk for diseases and promoting healthy growth. If you haven’t yet, monitor your garden space, take note of the different sunny areas to draw up a plan and account for sufficient spacing!
Ensure optimum soil conditions before planting: Most perennials prefer well-draining soil rich in organic matter. Since you’ll only be planting them once at the beginning, you need to take some time to prepare optimum soil conditions to ensure good growth for the entirety of their lifetime.
This is a crucial step because improving the soil or drainage will be more difficult after the plants are already in the ground. To prepare the soil, first, find out what kind of soil you’re working with to understand its composition and then test how well it drains. Some ideas to improve soil fertility and structure include incorporating compost or manure.
Steps For Planting New Perennials
- Keep new plants watered before planting them in the ground.
- Next, use the pot that the perennial you wish to plant is in as a reference to dig a hole. It should be slightly deeper than the pot and twice as wide.
- If the soil in the hole is dry, water it
- The roots of your new plant may be in a big clump. Before planting it, tease the roots to loosen them up to encourage the formation of new roots once planted.
- Place the new plant in the hole and ensure it is at a suitable depth.
- Once satisfied with the placement and depth of the new plant, fill the hole with a mixture of soil, any organic matter of your choice, and fertiliser. Halfway through filling in the hole, fill it with water to help the soil settle.
- When the hole is filled up, gently pat the soil around the plant to firm it up.
- Water the new plant generously, soaking it to ensure the roots receive adequate water.
- Top the soil with up to 3 inches of mulch, preferably organic. This step is essential to feed and nourish the new plant, encouraging it to grow healthy and happily.
Tips For Maintaining Your Perennial Garden
Water: Newly planted perennials need much water for the roots to establish. After that, most only need watering once every week. Make sure to research how much your particular plant needs, as some, like the coneflower and black-eyed Susan, only need minimal watering.
Fertiliser: Generally, most perennials don’t require much fertiliser; twice a year is usually enough to encourage growth. Some plants may even weaken due to overfertilisation. Only some, like lilies and delphiniums, need plenty of nutrients to be healthy.
Therefore, it’s imperative again to know just what your particular perennial requires. Another tip is to opt for organic fertilisers such as compost or old leaves compared to chemical ones, as they also help to improve soil conditions.
Pruning: Your new plants might need pruning every once in a while. Monitor them closely for any faded leaves and flowers, and simply remove them. You can use a tool like hedging shears. Pruning helps to get rid of dead/decayed foliage so that healthy ones can grow.
Having a vibrant perennial garden garden means you’ll always have a pretty floral display when you look outside during the blooming season. The best part is you’ll never need to buy flowers for decorating the home anymore; you can just go into the garden and make your arrangement!
So what are you waiting for? Start searching for the best plants for your perennial garden now!